Canelo Withdraws From Golovkin Rematch on May 5

Canelo Withdraws From Golovkin Rematch on May 5

Canelo Alvarez withdrew Tuesday from his planned May 5 rematch against Gennady Golovkin.

Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez made the announcement during a press conference/conference call at Golden Boy’s headquarters in Los Angeles. Gomez said Golden Boy’s brass had been advised that Alvarez isn’t likely to be cleared by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to fight Golovkin on May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when he appears before the NSAC on April 18 in Las Vegas.

The NSAC has temporarily suspended the Mexican superstar for twice testing positive for a banned substance in February.

Gomez added that the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch could be rescheduled for August or September. Alvarez could be suspended for up to a year, however, by the NSAC on April 18.

Alvarez’s withdrawal from the fight Tuesday ended nearly a month’s worth of controversy.

Golden Boy Promotions announced in a statement March 5 that Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol on February 17 and February 20. He agreed to submit to as much random testing as the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association required following those two positive tests in hopes of keeping their rematch scheduled for May 5.

Most media and fans figured the high-profile, lucrative Alvarez-Golovkin rematch would proceed as planned until the NSAC temporarily suspended Alvarez on March 23. It was then that the NSAC scheduled Alvarez’s hearing for April 10 in Las Vegas, as part of the commission’s regular monthly meeting.

The NSAC pushed back the meeting to April 18 last week, which created more doubt about whether the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch would take place May 5.

Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) still wanted to fight Alvarez again May 5, but he was extremely critical of his rival during an impromptu media day two weeks ago at his training camp in Big Bear Lake, California. The IBF/IBO/WBC/WBA middleweight champion doesn’t believe Alvarez’s excuse of contaminated meat causing clenbuterol to turn up in his system.